Author: Steve Little

Steve Little is the AI Program Director for the National Genealogical Society and the founder of AI Genealogy Insights. I trace my deep roots to one Appalachian county, where, by 1820, all 32 of my 3rd-great-grandparents had settled—many even earlier than that. In fact, 60 of my most recent ancestors were born, lived, and died there, in Ashe County, NC. My passion lies in AI & genetic genealogy: with a keen interest in endogamy, pedigree collapse, and the art of deciphering multiple relationships through DNA segment triangulation, and an insatiable curiosity to explore beneficial uses and current limits of artificial intelligence in genealogy. Beyond genealogy, I wear many hats: I'm a husband and a dad, a Methodist pastor, and a Virginian. My hobbies span from bird watching and sky gazing to chess and film. Additionally, I'm an avid reader, writer, photographer, and regex script hacker.

Fun Prompt Friday: Image Editing

AI image editing is evolving from simple commands into a creative conversation. For this Fun Prompt Friday, we're using that power to do something truly artistic: embedding a memory directly into a photograph. The prompt below guides the AI to analyze a scene and then install a ghostly wire sculpture—a 'memory made manifest'—that reveals the … Continue reading Fun Prompt Friday: Image Editing →

Enrollment Is Open for Our “Introduction to Family History AI” Course

Hi, Friends: I asked Claude to draft the announcement below, but I personally wanted to thank you for your support these past three years. I'm excited about this next chapter as we enter the GPT-5-class phase of the AI revolution. For those just joining us--welcome to this journey of discovery! Best, Steve PS: Me again: … Continue reading Enrollment Is Open for Our “Introduction to Family History AI” Course →

Episode 25: Photorealistic image generation with GPT-4o; reasoning over image analysis with OpenAI’s o3; in-image text generation solved

June 3 was the first anniversary of the Family History AI Show podcast, so I'm especially glad to announce that episode 25 is released today. (Both Mark and I were touched by the outpouring of inquiries and kind words during the break--thank you!) This episode features an interview Mark and I conducted with Jarrett Ross … Continue reading Episode 25: Photorealistic image generation with GPT-4o; reasoning over image analysis with OpenAI’s o3; in-image text generation solved →

“Man as Toolmaker” Is Taking on New Meaning at the Dawn of the AI Age

Kevin Borland introduced Linka, an AI assistant he trained. She writes code to improve features on his genealogy site, Borland Genetics, making it easier for users to share their family history with relatives who aren't members of the site.

About 14 months ago, I suggested genealogists would soon have a "flock of bots" assisting them. Borland Genetics is already making this a reality and even surpassing my expectations. Kevin Borland is creating at the cutting edge, orchestrating multiple AI assistants like a symphony conductor, pushing the boundaries of what's possible. Yesterday, Kevin introduced Linka, … Continue reading “Man as Toolmaker” Is Taking on New Meaning at the Dawn of the AI Age →

First Glimpse: OpenAI’s “Deep Research” isn’t like the others

Four major companies recently released AI research agents, all nearly identically named. One stands apart. In episode 24 of the Family History AI Show podcast, available today, Mark Thompson and I introduce a new class of AI models known as research agents. Since December, Google has released Gemini 1.5 Pro with Deep Reseach, China's DeepSeek … Continue reading First Glimpse: OpenAI’s “Deep Research” isn’t like the others →

The Author’s AI Assistant: Finding Errors While You Maintain Control

Using AI to check 10 writing basics while maintaining authorial control This virtual copy editor scans your writing, identifying errors from grammar to flow. It presents each correction with clear reasoning, then hands you the red pen—letting you decide which improvements belong in your final text. Three versions of the prompt are included and discussed … Continue reading The Author’s AI Assistant: Finding Errors While You Maintain Control →